PANews reported on March 4 that according to Zhitong Finance, artificial intelligence startup Anthropic announced that it has officially completed a $3.5 billion financing, with a company valuation of $61.5 billion. This round of financing was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, which invested $1 billion. Other investors include General Catalyst, Jane Street, and Fidelity Management & Research Company. In addition, existing investors such as Menlo Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners also made additional investments in this round of financing.

Anthropic's valuation has soared, partly due to the rapid expansion of the company's business. According to people familiar with the matter, the company's annual revenue run rate is about $1 billion by the end of 2023, but it has grown 30% so far this year. However, Anthropic did not comment on specific revenue. The new financing will be used to develop next-generation AI models, expand computing power, strengthen AI safety research, and promote market expansion in Asia and Europe. Last week, Anthropic launched a more advanced AI model, Sonnet, and released a new AI agent that can automate software programming tasks. This move further demonstrates its cutting-edge innovation capabilities in AI research and development.